Stratfield Saye

Today we went down to Stratfield Saye, the home of the Dukes of Wellington. It was a very nice house, one that felt like a wonderful place to live. It is not nearly as grand as Blenheim Palace, but more of a ‘country house.’

The tour was nice, a small group of 10. We went through most of the rooms on the ground floor of the house, all of which were very nice and also lived in. One of my key observations is that I have never seen so many boxes of Kleenex in a house.

One of the most interesting items at the estate was the great duke’s funeral coach. It was so massive, 17 feet tall. Literally as big as a house. It weighed 18 tons because it was made of iron! (pulled by 12 draft horses) It looks more like a ship than a horse drawn carriage.